Obituary of William Reed Lang

William Reed Lang passed away on November 19, 2024 at the age of 70.  He was a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Born May 28, 1954, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was the loving son of Richard Lang, and Betty Allin Lang.

Bill attended college at the University of Arizona with a major in philosophy and a golf scholarship. After one year he moved to study jazz and composition at the University of Madison, Wisconsin, with Les Thimmig, Jimmy Cheatham and Cecil Taylor.  He discovered his love for teaching and he taught woodwind instruments at several music studios including Schmitt Music, Groth Music, Trestman Music, Eckroth Music and Maestoso Music Studio over the course of 35-plus years.

He was best known for his solo sax performances at restaurants, including the Dakota, First Course, the Loring and Levain, which was featured in the New York Times. (Click here for article) and  KARE11 https://youtu.be/uwcb-V0e-kw. He performed at art galleries, garden tours, weddings, and his latest was at Clanceys. His main performance groups were Soul Asylum (before Dave Pirner asked if he could use the name), Full Moon Jazz Collective, Imp Ork, Unemployment Compensation and the Bill Lang Trio.

Bill’s greatest passion was golf, particularly a fast-paced round where he wouldn’t have to wait on the group ahead.  He recorded two birdies on his last round at Hidden Greens in September.  He also enjoyed watching soccer and Formula 1, reading and writing short stories.  He was known by family and friends for his tall tales and humor.  Sammy, his cat, was his best buddy and playmate.

Bill is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Toyo; his son and son’s fiancée, Martin and Angela; brother, Michael; cousins, Sandra Marion, Kari Jo Lang, Steven Rudolph, Amanda Rudolph (John Thorsen); aunt, Mercia Ruder. He was preceded in death by his parents Dick and Betty Lang.

A Visitation/Celebration of Life (open house) has been planned for Wednesday, November 27, between 2:00 and 5:00 PM at the Cremation Society of Minnesota, 4343 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are welcome to be made to the Hennepin County Library (please make checks out to "Friends of the HCL"), or to St. Louis Park Friends of the Arts for their “Gift of Music” program that repairs donated instruments before they are given away, http://www.slpfota.org/donate.